May home sales surge

All but the most expensive properties selling at brisk pace

The News-Press, Thursday, June 26, 2003

By Dick Hogan

Sales of news existing homes roared ahead in May in Lee County and around the country as record-low interest rates brought more people into the market and kept prices rising.

Single-family home sales increased 12.5 percent nationally to a 1.157 million annual rate last month from a 1.028 million rate in April, the Commerce Department said. Meanwhile, existing home sales rose to the third-highest pace on record: gaining 1.2 percent last month to 5.92 million at an annual rate form 5.85 million in April, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Locally, the market was strong as well. Lee County had 808 Realtor sales of existing houses in May, up 6 percent from May 2002’s 759. The median price increased 4 percent from $156,900 to $163,000.

In Collier County, the number rose 8 percent for

341 to 368 while the median price increased 8 percent from $264,000 to $287,000.

“The interest-rate-driven market is what’s moving,” said Charles Richardson, regional manager of Southwest Florida for Coldwell Banker Residential.

That means all but the most expensive homes have been selling well, he said – noting that while sales in Lee County as a whole are strong, Sanibel with its mostly high-end market has not kept pace.

“It’s down quit a bit,” he said, with only 260 Sanibel home sales through June 11 this year compared to 391 in the same period last year.

More expensive homes are more linked to the stock market than to interest rates, he said. “There’s a lot of inventory but it’s not moving.”